Seconds . Nashville Scene . 07-14-97

Seconds

DIRECTED BY: John Frankenheimer

REVIEWED: 07-14-97

So is this the weirdest studio film ever made? Released by Paramount in 1966, booed at Cannes, ignored by ticket buyers, and relegated to cult-curio status ever since, Seconds grafts together a handful of genres, practically at random: Call it a horror/sci-fi/soap opera crossed with an anti-Capra-esque take on It's a Wonderful Life. The protagonist is a middle-aged, white-haired suburban banker (John Randolph) who, feeling insignificant amid the youth-culture '60s, pays a faceless "Company" to transform him surgically into a virile-looking young swinger (Rock Hudson). But free love proves pretty deadening too, as evidenced by a bizarre "wine festival" that resembles nothing so much as a depraved Roman orgy. (Seconds seems equally fearful of the mainstream and the counterculture.) Ultimately, this hipster's life leaves our hero asking for thirds--but the offer has expired. The film is often corny and incoherent, but never less than fascinating.

--Rob Nelson

Full Length Reviews
Seconds

Other Films by John Frankenheimer
Ronin
The Island of Dr. Moreau

Film Vault Suggested Links
Gargoyles
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Thing

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